Automatic hog oiling and feeding assembly



i 4 July 4, 19.44.' L H.' PALMER I l, l2,352,859

AUTOMATIC HOG OILING AND FEEDING ASSEMBLY l Filed Jan. 22, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 4, 1944. l. H. PALMER 2,352,859

AUTOMATIC HOG OILING AND FEEDING ASSEMBLYv I V Filed Jag. 22. 1943 f 2 'sheets-sheet 2 Patented July 4, 1944 .fAUToMAT'ICHoG olLINof AND FEEDING ASSEMBLY v vIrwin H. Palmer, Aberdeen, S. Dak. v

l. `App1icat6nsanuary 2z, 194s, serial No. 473,228 iclainyls". (o1. 11s-54) The invention relates to automatic and feeders and has foritsobjects toxprovde certain newY and improved advantages finv devices of this character. f .v t

An important object of fthe invention'is toprovide an improved hogoileridevice which when operated by the animalV will. inz-turn actuatezimproved mechanically. connected-feed `'agit'ating elements associatedwith 'la feedbin `or hopper with the result that the lfeed -is uniformly and gradually discharged preferably into a plurality of feed troughs on opposite sides ofthe hopper.

A further object is to provide a Vdeviceof the character described wherein provision-is made for protecting the feedY loin,V feed troughs and the hogs from abnormal or 'inclement weather conditions, and from entrance ofmoisture tothe bin.

A still further object is to provide `a Vcombined hog oiler and feeder wherein provision is made for more effectually replenishing the feed in the bin or hopper by means of aghinge'ddoor disposed in the roof of the substantially enclosed lstrueture, means being provided for 4locking theY door in either open, closed or intermediate positions.

`A still further object is to provde'a more Veflicient automatic hog'oilingfdevice designed Vfor continuous operation when energized by the hog and which is capablefof convenient replenishment when necessary.`

A still further object is to provide an improved mechanism for actuating the" feeding devices through the oiler with a minimum of effort and friction on the part of theanimal's and wherein a maximum amount of feeding accommodation at the troughs is obtained by Ameans 'o'fl'a mini-` mum number of oiling device's. s 4 l A still further Objectis to provide anv automatic hog oiling and feeding assembly of compact and economical construction and'wherein all portions of the device arel'spaced `above the ground surface, thereby insuring against access f rain or moisture to any portion of thedevice.

A further object is toV providein the device vindependent Aand complementary oiling and feeding means operable selectively or simultaneously by the animals, thereby increasing the probability of and insuring the presence-of an vadequate amount of feed material in the feeding troughs atvall times.

Numerous other objectscand advantagesfof the; invention Will beapparent as. it :is better Vunder-V stood from the following description,1which taken in connection with-the accompanying.drawingsV discloses a. preferred embodiment` thereof.

.hogA Oilersy f sembly includes a substantially closed and pro- In said drawings: l 1 c Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional'view of my improvedhogoiling and feedingassembly.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the assembly on line 2 2 vof Fig. 1,. i

Fig. 3 is an enlarged viewfin sidelelevationpartially in vertical section of my -improved hog-oiler device or wheel per Se, Y

Fig. 4- is a rvertical sectionalview online 4-4 of Fig. 3, Y

Fig. 5 is a side'view of the deviceor assembly showing the feed replenishingfdoorin"elevated or open position, e' l Fig. 6 is an end nview of the assembly illustrating the substantially closed housing for protecting the feeding 'devices from the elementsj Fig. 7 is a detailview illustrating a portion of the door 'actuating and locking mechanism,

Fig. 8 is a detail view partially in verticalV seetion and taken lsubstantially on. lined-8. ofllig.Y

7, and v Fig. 9 is a detail view partially in section, 'of

one of the feed agitating shafts andelements.

Referring to the drawings, the housing astected building` structure vpreferably comprising opposite end walls I, an intermediate connecting roof I l,` a floor*I2 havingspaceduprights or supports I3 therebetween and opposit'elyHclis'-, posed longitudinallyV extending. roofA supporting beams or frame membersl3`a suitably secured to and carried bythe supports I3. `Longitudina'lly spacedA oppositely inclined raiters.v lillyV extend from the roof suppcrting'be'ams 13a to theridge |30 for' carrying the ppos'itely inclir'ied closed roof Iil which Ymay be of any preferred waterproof construction( UOne or more longitudinally extending iriiss'rods SMFiss- .2 am@ maybe incorporated in the structurezfonthe purpose of additionally carrying lthe weight of thereof andV preventing the sameufrom sagging. 1 ',lhefloor l2 is 1in. tura .Suppgicd and. spaced abgvethc ground level by meansof, a suitableynumberof horizontally diSPQSedspaced, ,eround..erigaging frame members yor; runners |147.A is intendedto exclude rain andhmcistureand torenderthe entire. assembly of aportable naturey and movable'from:

one locality to another on the said runnersl4, which may Vbe. replaced by wheels, ifndesired. As illustrated` itV is Aquite desirable `to y,construct the end walls lgandfloor. l2V of double boarding so as to more eiiectually insure. againstA accessv of i moisture, rain vor dampness to the building. This is very desirable to maintain the feed in a perfectly dry condition.

A longitudinally extending centrally disposed feed bin or hopper is indicated at l and is enclosed preferably by upwardly and outwardly inclined side walls I5, |6a, extending the full length of the described building structure and otherwise suitably reenforced by upwardly and outwardly inclinedframe elements Iby (Fig. 2). The lower ends of the said wall `elements I6 terminate or are spaced above the floor I2 so as to provide feed discharge apertures or openings I'I communicating with oppositely disposed longitudinally extending feed troughs It on each side of the feed bin at the lower end thereof, saidv troughs in turn supported by the` intermediate portion of the floor I2 which is of double boarding or thickness. wall I9 of each longitudinally extending feed trough I8 is extended inwardly as at 2d so as to overhang the trough to prevent the animals from rooting the feed transversely'out of `the trough. Spaced inclined .rods .2| and 2id, exten-:ling betweeneach trough and the feed bin are disposed along the troughs so as to .preventthe hogs from rooting the feed longitudinallythereof. Preferably vthe space between each pair of substantially vertically aligned rods 2| and 2id, longitudinally of each trough, is sufficient to accommodate one hog for feeding purposes. The opposite ends of the said rods 2|, 2|al are preferably removably secured to the troughs and bin walls I6 respectively to the end that their longitudinal spacing in the troughs may be variable to accommodate the hogs during their progressive development in size. Stated otherwise, the spacing of the rods longitudinally of the troughs would be less when the hogs are small than after they have reached maturity.

Disposed substantially centrally of the feed bin 'I5 and extending 'from end to end thereof adjacent the lower portion of the bin, are a pair of axially and longitudinally valigned agitator shafts 22, 22a. Each shaft is suitablysupported upon spaced standards or uprights' 23, 23a,l ex. tending upwardly 'from the iioor of thehousing and provided at their upper ends withbearings 24, 24a in `whichtheseparate aligned shafts 22, 22a are respectively journaled for rotation. Additional bearings 24h, V24C may also be provided at thev locality vwhere the 'respective shafts project outwardly 'through the end walls I0 of the building structure. Each shaft carries atV suitably spaced intervals'therealong a plurality of radially projecting feed agitatorarms 25, removably and adjustably secured to the shaft as best seen in Fig. 9. These arms are fixed to the shafts and preferably extend outwardly in staggered relation to one another so that each arm will have a different position in the bin radially of the shafts. v

The iloor of the feed bin or hopper I5, a comparatively short distance below the described agitator arms, is inclined downwardly and outwardly on each side of the shaft asindicated at 28 so as to constitute an oppositely inclined apron for more effectually directing the Afeed toward the discharge apertures `I 'I leading 4to the feed troughs I8. Y

Each feed agitator shaft for dispersing the feed F in the bin or hopper |5, has xedly secured at its outer end a rotatable hog oiler wheel v27, each preferably of identical construction. In V the embodiment illustrated the said oiler wheels each As best seen in' Fig. 2 the outer 4:0? toward the lower portion of the bin and in coninclude a hub 28 (Figs. 3 and 4) secured to a said shaft. a circular rim 29 and a plurality of radiating spokes 30 for supporting the rim. The rim or annulus 29 in turn carries an annular pipe 3| suitably perforated at intervals around its periphery as at 32, and encased within a burlap or other fabric covering 33. The circular pipe 3| serves as a reservoir for the medicinal oil and continuously saturates and supplies the burlap casing as required by seepage througlithe pipe perforations 32. The oil in the pipe may be replenished as desired as by means of a funnel 34 (Fig. 3) for directing the oil through one of the Vperforations 32 .or through a larger normally vclosed aperture in the said pipe.

The invention contemplates if desired the use of the described Vvertically disposed oiler Wheels 21 without the perforated pipek 3| in which event the oil would be contained in a suitable reservoir or permeable sacking disposed around the periphery' of the rimy 2.9.

The proportionsof the assembly aresuch that` the oiler wheels 21 are disposed the proper .or desired distance above the ground level so as to be .conveniently reached by the hogs when the latter desire to availthemselves of the oiling medicament. In sodoingeither of the saidoiler Wheels will be rotatedor oscillated .t in v.opposite directions according to thetendencyof the hogl .V in rubbing against the wheel. Under either conf. dition the shaft 22 orv22a, or both, upon which the moving wheels are respectively mounted, ,will be oscillatedA orv rotated so as tov move their attached agitator armsksurfliciently to stir upand.

disperse the dry feed in the hopper I5 to a sufli-v cient extent to replenish by gravityany apprefl ciable depletion in the feed troughs I8. -Agita-A tion of the feed vshafts by the oiler wheels under the urge of the rubbing action of the animals tends to maintain and gravitate the feed ator tact with the inclined apron floor 26. This is to the desired end that the feed will fall laterally outwardly through the apertures I1 into the troughs in accordance with the rate of consumption of the feed by the animals.`

Due to the comparatively large feed capacity of y the bin, for example bushels,'it will bev noted that the provision of separate longitudinally' aligned shafts 22, 22a each having an oiler wheel 21 at its outer end, preventsy undue effortbeing necessary on the part of the hog to rotate or oscillate a s-aid wheel 'sufficiently to discharge food 'into the troughs at either end of the building struc; Obviously both wheels might be actuated ture.

Provision is made for Vreplenishing thefeed bin |5'with a minimum of effort. "Io this end` the overhanging -roof l|f| on one sidevofthe build-- ing is provided with a door 35 extending the "full length of the building and -suitably hingedly secured at its inner end to the ridge element or portion |f3c. The flexible strip 35a (Fig. '2) mayA be -provided to effectually seal Iand prevent the entrance -of moisture =to the j'ointbe'tween the door and roof When the dooris in raised/or velevated position as illustrated in dotted lines inv Fig.- 2,fresh :dry feed orgrain may be'shoveled asfrom va'wagon .into the :upper/end ofthe `biny I5. .'To 'facilitate .suchl replenishment an in-v wardly anddownwardly inclined 'baille .board or .apron 36 `is .disposed longitudinally ofthe bui1d-..

ing between the.l roof I I `adjacent the outer end of. the door and I-the .upper end of the inclined side wall I6a of thefeed bin. l v

Manually .actuated mechanical means are provided for raising and `loweringthe door as well as for locking the samein its closed, open or intermediate" position. At one end of the building a shaft 3l projects outwardly through a suitable bearing therefor and carries at its outer end an operating handle 38 (see alsoiFig. 7). 'I'his shaft extends the full length of the building and is suitably journaled therealong and in the opposite end wall thereof. Inwardly ofsaid handle and on the inner side of the building wall the shaft carries at spaced intervals therealong a plurality of xedly secured depending arms 39 (Fig. 2) each having pivotally secured to its outer endV an upwardly extending link 40. The outer ends of these links are suitably journaled as at 4I in a plurality of bearings or brackets provided at spaced intervals along the longitudinal extent of, thedoor and adjacent the outer edge thereof. Thus it will be seen that when the manual lever or handle 38 is rocked in the proper direction (to the right as illustrated in Fig. 2), the levers 39 will be elevated to their dotted-line, position with the result that the door 35 is elevated to the dotted line position illustrated in said figure. In order `to-securely hold the'door against displacement in its open; closed or intermediate positions, the shaft carries adjacent the handle 38 and preferably exteriorly of the building, a ratchet wheel 42 having spaced peripheral teeth 43. A horizontally disposed lockingdetent member or bar 44 is slidably mounted within a pairfof spaced bracket members 45 secured to theouter end wall IU of the building. A spring pressed rod or bolt 4I extends vertically through the slot 44a of one of the bearing brackets 45, said bolt including awasher 48 beneath its head. A spring 49 has its lower end located in an opening 5 5 in the bearing 45 and bears against the upper face of the detent44, the otherv end bearing against thewasher 48. By adjusting the nut 5I on bolt 4'I the desired amount of pressure is obtained sojthat the spring 49 will hold the detent 44 in any position to which it is moved by the manual handle 46. The inner end of the slidable detent 44 is designed to engage between the teeth 43 of the gear wheel 42 so as to hold the door in any position to which it may be moved by rotation of such gear by the manual handle 38. Such a construction prevents the door from being blown open or closed by high winds or otherwise disturbed from its displaced or adjusted position, such as when replenishing the feed in the bin I5.

As best seen in Fig. 1 a separate bin or hopper 52 is provided at one end of the building and is separated from the main bin I5 by means of a partition wall 53. This separate or auxiliary bin may be employed for a special mineral or tankage food which is essential for quick growth of hogs but need not be consumed in such large quantities as the major portion of the food. Therefore only a small portion of the bin need be devoted to holding and disbursing this special mineral food.

By the described invention I have provided a valuable time saving device by means of which a hog raiser can save several hours per week. All that is necessary is to put a load of feed in the bin I5 after which the owner may ignore the matter of feeding and oiling until the bin is again empty. My device saves from one to three hours per day'perhog raiser from the ordinary method of feeding hogsbyhand.` The separate compartment 52 employed for feeding the commercial hogfqbalanoers whichcontain minerals and medicaments isbalso .a :great time saver. In view.` of the shortage of farm. labor this is an exceedingly important aspect ofthe. invention. The-device further saves -feed in important economicalrespects and is so1 constructed that.`

instance of many'ordinary feeders, thereby entailirig loss .andwasteuoiegrain The improved troughs I8 are so' arranged and Aconstructed that the hogs themselves cannot waste any appreciable amount of feed. The feed cannot either be rooted longitudinally. or transversely of the troughs nor can the hogs get theirbodies in the troughs and foul the feed. The troughs are so placed upon the flooring that what little grain is spilled may be readilypicked up by the animals. The expensive 1tankage feed in the separate'similar com-v partmentlorbin'Z is alsoconserved in this Amanner. -The tran sverse dimensions. of the flooring are -suchr thata hog` standing before the trough is sopositionedthat excrement drops upon the ground and thereby is prevented from reaching and fouling thefioor of the building orany grain which may bepresent thereon.

The gentire structure is designed to be portable so that it can betmoved into analfalfa field during the summer andclose tothe grain and grain bins in the winter, thereby constituting an important convenienceand time saving device. The combined agitator and hog oiling Wheels are obviously important time saving devices and theentire assembly issoV constructed that once.v

the b in` I5 is filled with .feed and the oil receptacles on the wheels 2`I lled, the hogs require no attention whatever for a number of days ata time. A. By means ofltheinvention the hog raiser may care for and .fully develop several times the number of hogs that he could otherwise raise and with a minimum of personal effort and time, so that most of his attention may be devoted to his regular farm duties.

The rugged nature and construction of the entire device is such that it may be readily transported from place to place and will not be damaged by such moving or by backing into the building a truck when filling and replenishing the feed bin. The described construction is further such that adequate shelter from snow and storms is provided While the hogs are feeding, the feed is protected from bad Weather partially by the double board construction, low eaves on the roof, closed ends of the hogs stalls preventing cross drafts, as well as the blowing in of rain and snow. This is also prevented by the full length door on the roof having a flexible sealing or ilap element 35a. I'he lower portion of the building is protected by the spacing of the door I2 above the ground level by means of the beam supports or runners I4.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacnicing all of its material advantending longitudinally and intermediatelyofsaidl structure between said roof -and mooring, feed troughs supported by said flooring on opposite sides of. said bin andeextending `longitudinally of thelatteratlits lowerend, dischargevapertures in the .lower end of said bin andoommunicating with .said troughs, a, pair of-'axially aligned agitator shafts extending longitudinallythrough said bin. and respectively projecting through `theopposite end walls of Ithe Abuilding structurarasplurality of agitating arms projecting radially from said shafts, perforated oiling wheels `rflta-tably mounted on the outerendsef said shafts-respectively exteriorly of the building, whereby actuation of said oiling wheels rotates saidshafts and their `associated agitating means to `loosen the feed in said bin; and discharge the same bylgravity into Vsaid feed troughs, and a door rhingedly mounted in said roof and oommunicatinguwith the upper end of said `bin for replenishing thev feed therein, said door having Amanuallyeontrolled means foropening and closing the same and for looking the `door against displacement fromany of its-adjusted positions. f

2. A hog feeding device comprising a rectangular building structure open at two sides thereof and =including la roofflooring and opposite end walls, adoor hingedly mounted in Vand constituting a part of said roof, asubstantially closed feed bin extending longitudinally and intermediately of said structure between-said roof and flooring, feed troughs supported-by said flooring on opposite sides of said bin and extending longitudinally of and communicating with thelatter, said lfeed vbin and troughs being spaced materially VAlaterally inwardly on said flooring from the opposite opensidesof the building structure te necessitate a feeding hog-to -stand in -a sheltered:.position.on said flooring, .manuallyI operable means .disposed eXteriorly.1of-.an,end ywall of the building structure for elevating said door Ito .open position for replenishing the feed in .said -bin, said means lincluding da vshaft having a handle thereon, a lever fixed on said shaft 'wand a link connecting the outer end :of said lever Ito said door, Aand a manually 4operable sliding detent engageable with said shaft for locking :the same against movement to hold the door in adjusted positionfrelativetoisaid roof.

3. An automatic hogoiler comprising a horlzontal shaft, a rotatable vertically disposed wheel mounted on said shaft, a rigid annular hollow perforated housing .constituting the rim of said wheel-andserving-as an oil reservoir, and afabric covering on said housingfor receivingvoil seepage through said perforations to thevpoint of saturation, whereby rotation ofsaid wheelby Contact with the hog uniformly applies' the oil to the skin of thefanimal. 1 f

4. A portablecombined automatic hog `oillngand feedingwassembly comprising a rectangular building structure openat two sides thereof and including a roof and elevated `flooring, a substantially closed feed .bi-n `extending longitudinally and intermediately of said structure between said roof and flooring, feed troughs supported bysaid floor-ing on opposite sides of `said bin and extend-I ing longitudinally of the latter -at its lower end; discharge apertures in the lower-end of saidbinand communicating with said troughs, a pairof axially aligned agitator shafts extending longi-l tudinally through said bin and respectively projecting through the opposite end walls of the building structure, a plurality of agitating larms projecting radially from lsaid shafts, andllperforated annular oiling wheels rotatably mounted on the outer ends lof said shafts respectively exteriorly of thevbuilding structure, whereby actua'-V tion of said oiling wheels independently rotates said shafts -and their associated agitating means to loosen the feed infsaid bin and discharge the same by gravity into-said feed troughs. 

